Disturbing Recollection
by Raphaella
Summary: 10 years ago something happened to one of the turtles, yet afterwards he did not remember anything of it, and it is only until strange sightings are reported that he is suddenly remembers things. He soon finds out wat happend when he was young. Completed
1. The Light

Disturbing Recollection

~

(Imagine the turtles 15 years of age in this year, 2003, no idea if this has been dun before, but I was watching paranormal programs, with UFOs and people who had been abducted so this came to mind.)

~

August 5th, 1:04 am, 1993__

_The silence of the Lair was broken slowly by a steady, quiet rumbling noise that was growing slowly louder, rattling objects in the Lair and creating the surrounding noise of humming, causing the little turtle in bed to freeze as fear paralyzed his trembling body. The small, round alarm clock on the bedside table next to his brother's bunk below him slowly vibrated its way to the edge of the surface and fell to the floor with a dull thud and a cut off clink. The wall on which his bed was against was rattling quietly less than a foot from his ear, and the turtle's eyes were as wide as they dared._

_   A sudden bright cyan light exploded soundlessly from the doorway of his bedroom car door, and the turtle flinched and squeaked in fright, squinting his eyes against the painful glare. Something was in the room beyond his door._

_   The turtle was overcome with a strong urge to cry in heart-gripping fright, but he was too scared to allow tears to fall, and before he could think any more of it, something emerged from the bright light; a silhouette began to form in the doorway that had not been open a minute ago, before the light had appeared._

_   His brother's electronic gadgets littering the floor next to the opposite wall whirled and hummed to life, and a few of their robotic toys aimlessly ambled around their own orbit in such a manner, the awake turtle found their movements terrifying and his eyes were momentarily transfixed to them. His body was trembling so hard his muscle were beginning to ache, and his hands, which were gripping the bed sheets to his chin, were clammy and cold. His breaths were dangerously shallow, but sharp and noisy as his eyes now glued to the figure that was now stood in his room, looking back at him in a completely opposite manner. The turtle's breathing pattern suddenly changed from shallow to extremely slow as his eyes, if possible, widened even more._

_   Splinter shot up in bed, gasping as though he had just run very hard. He immediately noticed the strip of bright blue light from under his door that was rapidly fading. A strange feeling churned in his stomach, telling him something he didn't believe, but he jumped to his feet and in a heartbeat was throwing open his car door, and was now looking into his sewer home. The source of the light was fading up the ladder, and Splinter sprinted, breathless, to the base of it, looking up, amazed at what he saw, while other feelings sped to catch up with him._

_   He choked in terror, squinting against the harsh light. Then, what he saw sudden vanished, and the light disappeared as though someone had turned off a switch, throwing the rat back into darkness. Then his terrified cry echoed through the darkened lair:_

_   "LEONARDO!"_


	2. Sighting

Disturbing Recollection

~

Summary: Bizarre happenings are suddenly occurring in New York, things that some people are claiming to be alien activity, and that they have seen UFOs in the night's sky. The TMNT witness one sighting themselves, but at the same time, terrifying emotions and memories overcome Leonardo, but he can not see what is causing it until Splinter regrettably tells Leo of an event that he was not sure happened, when the turtle was only 5. The sudden random appearances over New York trigger some memories that Leo never knew he had, and wished he didn't know . . .

**~**

Present Day 

   "How many's that then?" Mikey asked his brother, Donny, while chewing on a mouthful of a cheeseburger. Mikey had just joined his brother on the couch, where he flopped down, cross-legged. Donny was intently watching the early news on TV, leant forward leaning his elbow on his lab, head in his hand.

   Donny sat back and pushed the power button on the remote controls, and the screen faded to black with an electric click.

   "Five," he replied, giving Mikey's a sidelong glance and tilt of his head. "Three last night, two the other night."

   Mikey gave a small snort through the burger that was in his mouth.

   "This looks like an X Files case," he said in a tense tone with a smirk on his face. "Maybe on patrol tonight we might see a UFO sighting too."

  Donny gave a snorted chuckle through his nostrils, and, shaking his head at Mikey, stretched his arms out across the top of the back of the couch as Leo and Raph dropped down from the ladder entrance, and hung their trench coats and fedoras on the rack that was fixed to the wall.

   "Ape's apartment was a complete mess," Raph said casually as he walked past the couch his two brothers were sat on, and stopped at the dojo doorway. "Every valuable was taken, every window was smashed, all the food eaten, and worst of all, the ugliest thug of them all was sat burping on the couch, waiting to ambush us when we walked in."

   Leo shook his head with a faint smile on his face as he listened to his brother. Donny and Mikey looked back at Leo, waiting for a proper report.

   "The apartment was fine," Leo told them, glancing at Raph, who smiled and disappeared into the dojo. "And Casey was not waiting to ambush us, he was checking her apartment too."

   April had taken a vacation to Florida and had handed her apartment keys to the guys, and the spare cut to Casey so they could keep an eye on the place while she was gone for two weeks. She had been gone that time already, and was due back tomorrow. Leo and Raph had gone to check on the apartment since Donny and Mikey had checked up on it two days ago, and another two days before that.

   "But he HAD eaten all the food!" Came Raph's voice from the dojo.

   Leo chuckled as Donny and Mikey's head returned to Leo once again after turning to Raph's voice.

   "Well, he hadn't eaten it ALL, but a good amount," he said, walking around to the armchair opposite Splinter's, and lowering himself down onto the worn cushion. "He's gonna replace it all before she comes back tomorrow."

   Donny and Mikey laughed as Leo sat back with a smile. The sounds of a punching bag being unmercifully beaten from the dojo met their ears, before the soft, steady sound of a door being rolled back made them glance up to their Sensei's car.

   Splinter smiled at his sons, acknowledging Leo's presence, and the sounds of his other son in the next room.

   "Hey, Sensei have ya heard about these weird sightings of UFOs?" Mikey asked conversationally. "Been sighted only around New York since two days ago."

   Splinter, stood at the end of the couch next to Donny, seemed to stare, frozen, at his son in orange a second before he blinked, and with no change of expression or posture, he said, "I have not heard, my son, until now. Strange it is."

   "Yeah," Mike carried on, examining his second finger. "They were all sighted at night, so it could be possible if there is a UFO, that we might see something tonight on our patrol."

   "You don't believe in those things, do you?" Leo asked as thought he thought Mike was about to say 'yes'; an opened-mouthed amused smile on his face.

   "No," Mike replied, a trace of uncertainty in his tone. "But if it's just someone pulling a prank then we'll know for sure if we see something."

   Splinter started to make his way around the couch to the steps leading up to the ladder as his sons conversed.

   "Sensei, where ya going?" Mikey asked curiously, no longer cross-legged, but now with one leg crossed across the chair arm he was perched on with his other dangling, toes brushing the floor. 

   "Only for a short walk, Michelangelo," the old rat replied, and disappeared, not up the ladder, but to the back of it, through a door they do not often use because the network of sewer tunnels down there did not lead to a manhole for some time. Splinter often takes walks through them when he wants to stretch his legs, or to seek out quiet air when his sons were blasting music through Donny's hi fi system when they felt hyper, as teenagers do sometimes. It did not annoy him; on the contrary, he found it quiet pleasing to see his sons behaving exactly like human teenagers. He often enjoyed the endless, untamed energy from Michelangelo, whose mischievousness was shared by Donatello, Raphael, and to some extent Leonardo. Splinter found it highly enjoyable to experience that happiness that ran through him when he saw his children, ignoring the fact they were different, enjoy the jokes and activities they not so often shared.

   Blinking back to reality, Splinter found himself in a familiar tunnel ten minutes away from the lair. Thinking about his sons was something of a hobby. He loved them so much he found thinking about them the perfect remedy to lonely moments, or depressed feelings, not that he ever much got these, but when he did, the thought of his fortune to have the as sons made him feel, in a fatherly way, the luckiest soul. They brought him happiness upon happiness, and he could not ask for more.

   Tearing himself once more from his deep thoughts, he focused on the news that had just been told to him, news that, strangely, seemed to freeze his heart for a millisecond. He had never given any proper thought into believing things such as Extra Terrestrials, therefore he had no opinion on the matter, positive or negative. There was a time, which he vaguely remembers, that something paranormal had happened right in his home, but he had later dismissed it as a strange dream his imagination should not have created; yet he did not forget it, but stashed the memory to the back of his mind, where, right now, it was focused upon. But Splinter shook his head, and with a sigh, looked up at the damp walls he was passing. His brain adopted a new subject to think about, and the rat smiled slightly as he looked forward to seeing April tomorrow, probably tanned from her vacation in Orlando. He stopped his walking and stood for a few seconds before turning and tracing the route he had used to get there, home.

()()()()

   "Clear sky," Donny observed with a half smile, as he knew what Mikey's response would be to this:

   "Perfect conditions for spotting something strange in the sky tonight," his brother in orange said wryly with a sidelong look at him.

   "The only strange thing out tonight is you," Raph said under his fedora, which was pulled further down over his eyes than his brothers' were.

   They were walking through a street that opened out into central park, having only just come up topside. Their last patrol had been three days ago, so they were all glad of the fresh night air, and the hope of some action tonight. 

   "I doubt too much would have surfaced after three days," Leo said, gazing at the small alleyway they were walking towards. He was referring to the scum they usually fought. "We've practically swept the town clean of criminals."

   "Great, let's go see a movie," Mikey suggested.

   Leo rolled his eyes. "No, Mike."

   "You wouldn't get to see anything strange if you went inside," Donny pointed out, leaning towards his brother as he walked.

   "Well at least let's eat while we're out here."

   "You had a full pizza to yourself earlier," Leo said, eye ridges raised to find his brother still thinking about food. "Beside nowhere 'll be open. It's too late."

   They walked around the streets that ran along the edge of the park for a while, meeting nothing and no one. They were beginning to feel restless, and soon Raph suggested the take a stroll in the park. Maybe they might find some drug dealers or something. They made their way onto the green grass, around the trees and followed the paths, but they found nothing after fifteen minutes, and Mikey sat down on a bench, saying he had something in his foot.

   "Ow," he said, picking his foot up and pulling it onto his knee, examining the sole of his foot. There was a small wound, but it was oozing blood. Mike clicked his tongue.

   Leo bent his back and looked at it. "Maybe we should get back so you can get that treated in case it catches an infection."

   Mikey nodded, but tried to see if he could spot any glass in the wound.

   "Don is this a glass wound?" He asked, and waited a second for his brother to decide what caused it. But his brother did not answer, and both he and Leo looked up to Donny at the same time as Raph, who has also been looking at Mike's foot turned to his left.

   Donny was staring at something over the trees Mikey was sat with his shell to, with his mouth open and his eyes unblinking. His eye ridges were slowly rising, and as they were doing so, his eyes were moving, as though whatever they were locked onto was moving closer or higher. A low rumbling reached their ears, and the very ground started vibrating as lights started to shine and move through the trees. They all watched as three lights moved as one, in formation, over them, slowing down as the large triangular object they were fixed to, hovered directly above them. In the brief second it hummed in mid air, they managed to squint past the bright light to see what the thing was: it was about the size of a cargo truck, in the shape of a blunt-edged triangle; there were no sharp edges, it was all smooth, oil-like metal, with patterned indentations lacing the hull. It was so close, that they could have touched it if they dared to jump. But they were all transfixed to it, and after that second of slow motion it glided away so fast it and the noise had gone in two seconds flat.

   Donny, Raph and Mikey were left, open-mouthed as they stared at the point in the sky where it had disappeared, but they were pulled back from oblivion by a noise, and they turned around to see Leo huddled on the ground, shell pressed against a tree next to the bench. His arms were pressed together and his hands were gripping his head as though he were a frightened child against an abuser. He was trembling, and let out a choked cough of fear. As his three brothers recovered from their shock and started to move towards their brother, he began to jerk his head from side to side.

   "Leo," Donny breathed, stunned to see his brother like this. He bent down quickly to grab Leo, but Leo cried "No!" and Don flinched for a split second before grabbing his brother. "Leo," he called forcefully, hoping to snap whatever Leo had fallen into, out. "Leo!" He shouted in a sharp tone. He was dimly aware of his other two brothers, shocked to do anything, behind him; but he turned around to them. "We've got to get him home!" He told them, his voice oddly formal. He turned back to Leo as Mike bent down on one of his sides and Raph the other. Leo had now stopped everything except trembling, but he did seem breathless. He looked up at Donny, lowering his arms.

   "Don?" He whispered in a voice that seemed weak.

   "S'ok Leo," Donny said, his normal voice returning. He helped Raph and Mikey lift their brother to his feet.

   "What happened?" Leo breathed as Donny draped one of his arms over his shoulders for support while Raph held the other. Mikey put his hands on Leo's shell, a worried frown creased his brow.

   "I dunno, buddy, but we gotta get you home," Raph said, watching his brother's face. He and Donny helped their exhausted brother away from the bench, towards the manhole. 

   Before he followed, Mikey glanced back up at the dark sky, wondering whether he should believe what he had just seen.


	3. The 'Dream'

Disturbing Recollection

~

   Mikey stood up from the couch as Donny appeared form his and Leo's room, closing the door gently and quietly behind him.

   "Is he okay?" Mikey asked, finding himself slightly cold with the after shock of seeing three bright lights in a triangular shape pass over him less than a half hour ago.

   Donny nodded, and Mikey found himself relaxing at the calm expression on his brother's features. Leo had been put to bed as soon as they got back into the lair, though they were all slightly relieved when they had gotten below ground level that Leo had regained himself and was talking normally; but he seemed shaken, so Donny suggested he should get some rest, and he helped him into bed.

   "Yeah, Splinter's with him, he's just tired, as am I," Donny said, rubbing his hand over his face. He stopped and looked at Mike. "Did you see . . . what I thought I saw, flying in the air, passing right over us?"

   Mikey nodded wordlessly, and he looked behind him at his other brother in Splinter's armchair. Raph had not said a thing since they returned to the lair. He too was stunned at what he saw in the park.

   They were all silent for a minute while the same thoughts ran through all of their minds.

   "Soooo . . ." Mikey said slowly. "I guess they weren't prank reports then, huh?" He fixed a weak smile on his face, while Donny reflected it, chewing his lower lip in deep concentration.

//

   "Splinter I don't know what happened," Leo said, sitting up in bed. His Sensei was sat on the edge, watching his son with an expression Leo couldn't read. The other three brothers had told him what they had been doing in the park when something triangular flew over them, and then they described Leo's 'fit'. Leo himself had just told his father the feelings that had overcome him.

   "I felt like I was, I dunno, a kid, and I was really scared," Leo continued. "But . . . even though it was – totally strange and amazing – I feel I shouldn't have been scared . . ." he looked up from staring at his bed sheets to his Sensei. "What happened? Why was it only me who – who did that? It felt like I'd seen or done the same thing before, yet I haven't, it's like, Déjà vu." He broke off and shook his head, confused. Then his expression changed. "Mikey thinks we really did see a UFO . . . has Donny pointed out the faults of the prank it was supposed to be?"__

Splinter displayed a half grim smile on his face and looked warmly into Leo's eyes.

   "Donatello was . . . shocked also, for he could not think of anything he remembered being wrong, or what might have given away your 'UFO' as a prank." Splinter said in a softer voice than usual. "I believe the skeptical Raphael, is also just as shocked . . ."

   Leo frowned. "Then . . . it must have been . . . but, it just seems so unreal . . ." He paused for a few seconds, which felt like minutes, before he spoke again. "So, if it was a – a, well a . . . it must have been the cause of what happened to me. I mean, it felt like I had seen something just as strange before, when I was younger . . . but nothing happened when I was younger . . ."

   Splinter stared at his son's face, and as Leo watched him, stronger confusion creased his brow as he tried to read the strange expression on the rat's features.

   "Leonardo," Splinter said, in a stronger tone than a minute ago. But he broke off for a few long seconds, locking eye contact with his son, who did not interrupt his silence. "There was . . . a point in your young life when something . . . strange happened." He watched his son frown even more, for Splinter knew that Leo did not remember. "I always dismissed it as a dream my mind would not forget, until now . . . ten years ago, when you were five, I thought years later I had a dream that . . . that you were taken by a strange light force," he paused, but Leo was listening carefully to every word. "The only thing I saw, or I dreamed, was a bright blue light; it awoke me in the middle of the night, shining through the gap underneath my door. For some reason I seemed to know why that light was in the room beyond, I knew what it wanted, and I knew what it was . . . I jumped out of bed, and reached my door, but by the time I had opened it, the source of the light was at the top of the ladder, and fading fast. I ran to the bottom of it, and looked up – and I saw something  . . . very, very bizarre. I saw, through the blinding light . . . a five year old Leonardo, above the exit hole, floating next to a silhouette shape I could not properly see . . . Before I could move again, you and the light vanished without a trace . . ." He paused again, to find Leo's eyes had broken their locked gaze on Splinter's, and had drifted to the bed sheets. Splinter continued. "I do not remember much after that, but I can remember your brothers had not awoken at all after I had loudly uttered your name, and so I came to the conclusion, that whatever took you, had controlled them to remain asleep. They awoke fine the next morning, and were as confused as I to find, after I had exhausted myself back to sleep, that you were not with us . . . it was a full week after, at the same time of night when I was beginning to believe I had lost you, that I saw the strip of identical blue light shining under my door again, and without hesitation I leapt from my bed and into the lair, where the light became so blinding I was forced to turn away, and when I looked back, you, my son, were laying on your side, on the floor, and the light had faded completely . . . after that experience, you could not remember anything of it, and after two weeks, the light, and my worried actions and questions had gone from your memory, as the week without you had gone from your brothers'. I was highly confused, but long after that it began to fade in my own memory, and I pushed the supposed dream to the back of my mind . . . I do not know what happened to you during that week you were gone, but the day after it happened, there were reports of UFO sightings . . . and so, I did not believe that to be real, until now . . ."

   Leo did not say anything. His expression was partly blank, partly something else that Splinter could not read. A few more seconds passed before Leo appeared to be trying to form words, but they seemed caught in his throat, and he had a disbelieving, almost delirious, smile flickering every time he tried to open his mouth.

   Finally he said in a quiet, chocked voice, "I – I don't . . . have any memory of that, of – of being taken by _anything_."

   "No, Leonardo . . . it seems the incident has been erased from your memory . . . but it seems, at the sight of the object you and your brothers saw, it triggered feelings that you experienced when you were five, when it happened.

   Leo swallowed. "And – and I said nothing about what happened to me in after that week I went missing, when I was five?"

   Splinter shook his head slightly. "No," he said softly. He realized this must be very difficult to take in. He himself was having a hard time trying to make his brain realize that it was true.

   Leo appeared too lost in thought to talk anymore, so Splinter got to his feet and looked down at his son.

   "I will leave you in peace," He said softly, turned, opened the car door and walked out, closing it behind him, getting a last glance at his son, who had not moved. Splinter turned around to see his other three sons asleep. Donatello and Michelangelo had collapsed on the couch, and Raphael was slumped in the armchair. Perhaps this close encounter had had an effect on them as well, maybe it brought back familiar feelings from the night they had all been so very sad when their brother had not turned up the day after the strange incident had happened. Splinter was stood next to couch, without realizing he had moved. He laid a hand on Donatello's forehead, who was snoozing with his mouth closed, while Michelangelo had his open. Splinter could hear his breathing from there. The rat turned and walked back into his own room, hoping Leonardo would get some sleep, as he needed it. He had many questions that begged to be answered, but he could not consider them tonight. He closed his car door, and was asleep within fifteen minutes, ludicrously hoping he would not wake up in a few hours to a bright blue strip of light shining under his door.

~

Thank you for your reviews, I'm gonna try and write the next chapter before I go away for a holiday, yeah at last, * is going to Sommerset!*  Lol, I gotta write like mad in the next few days.


	4. The Park

Disturbing Recollection

~

Leo heard Splinter close his door, and a few seconds later heard the quiet sounds of his Sensei's own car door being closed, and he knew his father had gone to bed. He could sense his brothers asleep, but he was far from tired. Thoughts were running through his head at such a speed, he couldn't cling to one to listen to it. After a few more minutes, Leo couldn't stand being sat still any longer, and he climbed out of his top bunk, dropping silently to the floor. He rolled the door open slowly, peering out into the dark lair. He could see the tail of Donny's bandanna over the couch arm, and he could see another brother in the armchair next to it. He crept out, shutting his door behind him, and walked over to the steps, glancing at the couch and seeing it was Raph in the armchair, and Mikey was on the couch with Donny, and Leo could see the center of Mikey's foot was wrapped in a thin bandage. It wasn't like them to fall asleep so soon after an encounter like what they had.

   Leo grabbed his hat, pushing it onto his head as he turned to the ladder and started to climb. He needed fresh air and a walk, even though it was very late. It took him three minutes to reach the manhole that led him to the dark city above, and he pushed at the heavy lid, sliding it away so he could fit through the hole. He replaced it and, stuffing his hands in his pocket, starting walking to the street he and his brothers had been walking down before they had gone into the park. Yet when he arrived, he stopped and looked at the dark trees, leaves blowing slightly in a soundless breeze, almost hiding the dark paths that wound through the park. He had the strangest feeling of being drawn to the park, so he turned direction and made his way towards the trees that would have repelled anyone else that time of night in that eerie darkness.

   As he entered the shadow of the trees, he expected to feel the light breeze that had moved the leaves, but he felt nothing, and it made him glance up to see if he was in the line of the wind. He shook his head and continued to walk, suddenly attacked by a stream of thoughts. Thoughts of what Splinter had told him, and finding it difficult to believe that he didn't remember anything of it, even with the explanation Splinter told him of his memory being purposefully wiped. Leo broke out of his thoughts and looked up to find himself facing the bench that Mikey had stopped at, where they had all seen the strange lights, and the even stranger triangular shaped . . . _UFO._

   "What's happening?" Leo whispered to himself, thinking about all the UFO sightings, including his. He walked over to the bench, spotting a few small drops of blood, no doubt Mikey's, and sat down on it with his hands still in his pockets. He took them out and placed them on either side of himself on the bench.

   "If only I could remember what Splinter saw," he said, "all those years ago." He paused, now feeling a small breeze move his coat and bandanna tails. He then shuddered. What had he seen when he had been _taken_? Had he seen anything at all? He must have done if he was awake when it took him; Splinter said he saw him floating with a silhouette shape. But that didn't mean Leo could have been awake. But if he had been . . . what would a five year old Leo have been feeling ?– exactly what Leo had been feeling an hour ago when he had been curled up against the tree trunk, shaking and feeling utterly scared. Those feelings must have been the first and only emotions Leo remembered in those ten years from the supposedly horrifying experience.

   Leo glanced at the tree to his left that he had been sat against. He couldn't even remember ever getting down there and shaking from looking up because Donny had not answered Mikey's question; then he just remembered being on the floor, shaking, staring at a worried face of Donny. It was so strange.

   Out of the corner of Leo's eyes he swear he saw a very, very quick, bright flash of light right next to him. And he turned to look around him, but there was nothing there. It must have been his eyes playing tricks. He shook his head slightly, but the froze as his eyes landed on the floor at his feet. He frowned, and moved his right foot out the way as he stared harder at the floor. The droplets of Mikey's blood had disappeared, and Leo was sure that small breeze could not have blown dirt over them. He rubbed his foot over the area, just in case, but there were no red smears after he had disturbed the dirt.

   "Hu -?" Leo half said, but he froze again as the path in front of him seemed to get lighter, as though something was shinning a far away light down. Leo watched, frowning, as the light moved, getting brighter, and illuminated him and the bench, creating a circular perimeter around the wide-eyed turtle. Breathing faster now, Leo looked up for the source of the light, but he looked straight into the brightest, white light, and squinted hard. It became so bright, that if anyone happened to have come down the path, all they would have seen was a cylinder beam of light beaming down on an almost colorless figure. Then, the light seemed to close in a rectangle shape, as though its walls were closing, imprisoning the turtle. Then, the light, along with the turtle, disappeared, leaving the park dark and silent once again that night.


	5. Was It Real?

Disturbing Recollection

~

   It was white. All white. The light was so bright, it made everything look white – everything WAS white, and so was the light. He could see nothing. He could hear nothing. He was aware he was lying down, on what he didn't know, and looking at just whiteness. He didn't know if it was a ceiling he was facing, or a bright light, the source of which he couldn't see; if there was a source. He wasn't even aware his body was strapped down at the arms, the ankles, and the chest. He moved his head, turning it left, and saw three other figures strapped to a table surface, which was rectangular, continuing like a big rock, smoothing corner as it met the white floor. They looked like rocks that had been cut through and made soft to create a flat surface. Upon these surfaces, spaced out at about seven foot each, were his three brothers, asleep, not moving, oblivious to the white 'room' and the bright white light. It was so difficult to tell what color they looked, because of the extreme bright light. It seemed to make everything lose its color almost completely. But he could only just make out a very, very light shade of orange around the nearest brother's head. Mikey, like Donny and Raph, were completely still, they didn't even appear to be breathing, and their expressions were of a perfectly normal sleep, non-troubled no frowns. The turtle, breathing slowly, felt his heartbeat beating steadily, almost as though it had been controlled to do so, because this turtle knew, that had he been himself, his heart would be racing, and his breathing would be fast. How did he get here? Before he could consider answers to that out-of-the-blue question, the whiteness was fading rapidly to black – 

   "Agh!" Leo bolted up, eyes wide, breathing painfully fast. He took a few seconds to recognize he was staring at the dark brown-gray wall of his bedroom as his eyes darted over it. He jerked his head to his right, looking at the floor between the bunks and the end wall of his and Donny's car. There was nothing there. Leo looked down and found he was under his sheets. He pushed them off, frowning, as though they shouldn't be there. _But they _shouldn't_ be there._ He had had a dream, a dream, just a dream of whiteness – _No, it wasn't a dream; it was real._ He had been in a white room, with that bright light.

   In a quick movement, Leo had spun on his bunk and slid off. He threw open his car door and looked into the lair. Donny had fixed the lights in the lair, quite ingeniously, to imitate the sunlight through a normal house, so, set with the clocks, they would slowly brighten with the sunrise above, and slowly darken with nightfall. As Leo looked into the lair, it looked early morning, about six, maybe seven, thanks to the soft light. Leo walked further in to see Donny exactly where he had been last time Leo had seen him: Asleep on the couch with his head against the couch arm. Leo looked past him to Mikey – no – it was Raph sharing the couch with him, and Mikey was sat in the armchair. Leo frowned. Why would they swap sleeping places in the night? _They didn't – they were with _me_ – in that white room, I saw them, and the aliens, or whatever they are, returned them to where they were. But why return only Donny to his place and not Raph and Mikey, when they want to keep themselves secret, and try their best to remain inexistent, to try their best to make it seem nothing had happened? Or am I just crazy, and it WAS a dream?_ Leo looked back at Donny. No, it wasn't a dream. He remembered seeing the back of the couch from his room, and seeing Donny's bandanna tail over the edge, and he couldn't have moved because he was in exactly the same position as when Leo looked at him before he went topside . . . Was Leo just being totally crazy now? There was also something different about his brothers . . . he couldn't put his finger on it. Leo realized he was staring unblinkingly at Donny's arm, and blinked away, but a split second after shot his eyes back to Donny. He looked . . . darker, His skin was a darker green, Leo was sure it was. He looked at Raph, and then at Mike. Yes, they looked darker, as if they were tanned . . . Leo held up his own hands, turning them over to look at his arms. Yes, he knew himself enough to know when his skin had darkened.

   One of his brothers groaned, and Leo dropped his hands to see Donny turning over and pushing his front up on his elbow. He glanced at Raph and Mikey before turning around, feeling Leo's presence, and seeing his oldest brother.

   "Hey Leo, how are you doin'?" He asked. He then squinted at Leo. "Are you okay? You look, er, a bit of a different color."

   "I'm okay," Leo replied. 

   "Wassa time?" Donny closed his eyes and stretched his arms high.

   Leo looked at the VCR clock. It was 6:40. Last night he had left the Lair at about 1:00am, and had taken around twenty minutes to reach the park bench. What had happened in the time when he had been taken from that bench right up to now? The white room was becoming fuzzy, and the memory seemed to be fading. It wasn't as clear as it had been when he had woken a few minutes ago.

   "Donny," he said, taking his eyes from the VCR to his brother. "Did you . . . have a strange dream last night?"

   Donny paused for a second before slowly shaking his head. "No, no dream, not that I remember, why?"

   Leo didn't frown, but he felt like doing so. "Oh, er, I just thought I heard one of you in the night," he lied quietly. Should he tell Donny what he thought had happened to them in the night?

   Donny watched his brother. "I didn't hear Mike or Raph, are you sure it wasn't you? Are you feeling alright, Leo? You really do look a different shade than usual."

   Leo, having been looking at the floor at Donny's feet, look up. "Donny, we're all different shades than usual." He informed with a very slight air of irritation, as though Donny should have noticed already. But he wasn't irritated.

   Donny frowned, and then looked back at Raph on the couch, and after a second looked at Mikey, who turned over in his sleep with a small noise.

   "Yeah," Donny said slowly, frowning and turning back to Leo, examining his own hands. "We are." He glanced up at the lights.

   "No, Don, it's not the lights," Leo told him before Donny could suggest it. "You're not gonna believe me, but it was a bright light that caused this . . I think."

   "Bright light?" Donny repeated. He pointed up with both first fingers. "Those lights -?"

   "No, not those," Leo said quickly. "The same kinda lights that we saw in the park, last night. But much, much brighter."

   Donny's frown deepened, and underneath, his eyes were slightly wide. "What were they doing in here?"

   "They weren't _here_ – they were –" Leo opened his palms out, trying to find words "– _up there_, I think. We were taken up there, I saw it, we were all in a white room, filled with bright light, and we were strapped down on these kinda tables, but I was only awake for a few seconds, I dunno, it's not very clear now . . ." Leo slowed himself down, "I went for a walk last night, in the park; and I saw a beam of light, and it trapped me. Next thing I know is I'm laid out on something, and everything around me is white with a bright light as well. I remember seeing you, I think, I definitely remember seeing Mikey, and that was when I woke up in bed . . ." he paused. "You see? It wasn't a dream as they wanted me to think, because I was in the park, I was definitely in the park before it, and then I end up back here hours later."

   Donny was still staring at him, the same expression on his face all the time Leo spoke.

   Leo felt he needed to prove it better. He suddenly pointed at Mikey. "Look, see, Mikey wasn't in that armchair when you guys fell asleep." He paused again. "He was where Raph was, and Raph was in the armchair. And don't go telling me that they could just change in the middle of the night because you know how deep sleepers those two are."

   "Well," Donny said, looking at their other brothers. "I guess that's true . . . and yeah, they were in the opposite places."

   Mikey groaned and his arms straightened out in a stretch. He woke and saw Leo and Donny turn their heads towards him.

   "Hey guys," he said, a morning smile on his face. "Hey Leo, how –"

   "Mikey," Leo said, "don't move, you're evidence." And he turned back to Donny, explaining that the aliens or whatever they were didn't want anyone to know they were being taken.

   "Evidence?" Mikey said to himself as Leo turned his attention away from him again. He raised his voice a little and said to Donny, "Is he okay?"

   They both turned back to him and made their way next to the chair. Leo crouched down.

   "Did you have a dream last night?" He asked. "Anything, can you remember anything?"

   Mikey shook his head. "Nope, which is strange because I usually do have dreams. Pizza is the main topic in mine, but sometimes these little anchovies walk in and it spoils everything –"

   Leo rolled his eyes as Donny smiled, and they both stood up straight as Master Splinter's voice spoke up behind them.

   "Leonardo," he said. "Are you alright my son?"

   "I'm fine," Leo said, as Mikey shifted in his seat, frowning at his place. He couldn't remember sitting down here and falling asleep.

   "Good, I hope you got some sleep," Splinter said. "Will you please wake Raphael, we will be practicing as normal. Leonardo, you may miss out if you feel you would like to. I understand that the news last night was shocking." His tone was gentle.

   Leo thought back to last light when his Sensei had told him of his 'dream' that had happened ten years ago, and he suddenly felt cold. Maybe he still wasn't over the shock and surprise of the things that had been happening, or maybe he just wasn't reacting to them like he should be. Wouldn't normal people be totally freaked if they found out they had been abducted? But, maybe the reason for his lack of emotion to this strangeness was because he had no idea what had happened to him that night ten years ago. He couldn't remember it, so it wasn't particularly scary, and he didn't know what they had done, or why they had kidnapped him last night. Though at this, he shuddered. He DIDN'T know what they had done, did he? Leo felt colder, he didn't realize he was shivering, and it took his another few seconds to realize he actually did feel scared. What had they done to him, if anything? Leo and all his brothers hated the idea of humans poking and prodding them, never mind things that weren't even from this earth! His hands were cold and clammy, and he balled his fists.

   "Leonardo, what is wrong?"

   Splinter's voice brought Leo out of his hazy trance, and looked at his Sensei. He was now aware his hands were rubbing his arms, and he could only guess he didn't look at all well.

   "Leo? Leo I think you oughtta go back to bed," Donny said, moving towards his brother and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Man, Leo, you're freezing, c'mon –" and he guided his brother towards their car as the mumbles of Raph waking up came from the couch. Splinter followed his two sons in the car and watched as Donny lay Leo down on his own bottom bunk.

   "I don't know – what's wrong," Leo shivered, feeling very confused, as Donny pulled the sheets over him. The sheets felt cold to the touch as well, but he knew they would warm up.

   Splinter looked at Leo in bed, and then looked at Donny. "Donatello, I want you start the practice in the dojo, I will join you shortly."

   Donny bowed to his Sensei, and the, glancing at Leo, left the car, and closed the door behind. Splinter looked back into Leo's face, but his son spoke first.

   "Master, I think – I think they did it again," Leo said. "I dunno, I'm having second thoughts that it was a dream, but when I woke up a few minutes ago I could have sworn it was real –"

   "Leonardo, tell me what happened," Splinter ordered, firmly cutting across Leo.

   Leo paused at his interruption, but nodded and told Splinter of what he thought had been a dream, from where he noted Donny on the couch, to waking up in the bed he was now sat in without knowing how he got back. Once he had finished he took a breath and studied his Sensei's expression, but he could not read it.

   Finally after a few slow, deadly silent seconds, Splinter said, "I do not know what is happening, my son . . . but whatever it is, I feel you will find out, and I _hope _it will end for you . . ." Splinter got up and left the car, leaving Leo to wonder why Splinter had used a tone that sounded as though Leo had some deadly illness that may clear up if he chose his actions wisely. He felt more confused than ever.


	6. Thinking

Disturbing Recollection

~

   It was clear in his expression when he emerged from Leo's room not long later that Splinter was worried and disturbed for his son. Don, Mike and Raph felt clueless as to what was happening to Leo. They could no longer remember that night when they saw the lights in the sky. All they could recall was Leo having some minor fit, and bringing him home only to hear later that he had dreams that made him scream. They were confused, and it seemed no one was filling them in anytime soon.

   Leo's fright remained, yet another emotion was brewing inside; he was angry, he wanted to know why the bright lights were doing this to him. Why they were putting him through torture he felt ten years ago – and _why_ did they do that ten years ago. He felt like a rat that could not escape the scientist's twisted fingers, and it made him feel trapped.

   The next three hours he spent in thought in his room. He did not leave his room for food or drink, and he didn't even get up. He lay on his bed, occasionally closing his eyes to think deeper – but every time he did so he saw another flash of a bright memory – and he heard his own five-year-old scream. This was the last thing he saw and heard before he snapped his eyes open, and set his mind. He would do all in his power to prevent another abduction, and use force if he must, to stop them altogether. He did not want to keep seeing the memories of his younger year experience every time he closed his eyes – and he knew that if he could at least know _why_ he was being taken into this 'bright room', whatever the answer, at least he would know. He did consider the main conclusion for alien abduction: that to experiment and learn of the living beings on the planet – but the fact that there were only four mutated turtles in the entire world might have made it a more . . . _exciting_ discovery for these aliens. That brought a new thought to Leo's mind: Splinter was _the_ _only_ mutant rat in the world, which made him, in a way, more special – so, these bright lights obviously didn't know about him . . . or didn't care.

   Not the first time in this week did Leo's brain feel like it was in overload. The turtle let out a silent sigh, and sat up. The ceiling had become pretty boring to watch after three hours, and now he was hungry.

   The first thing he looked at was the illuminated clock on the VCR as Leo stepped out of his room and into the lair. It was 2:20 in the afternoon, and no one was in the lair. He froze and listened; he could hear the sounds of weapons practice in the dojo, which answered why the TV was turned off for once. How could his brothers concentrate on practice after what they saw with him in the park? Frowning, Leo walked over to the kitchen area and grabbed a few cookies to eat. He ate them in the kitchen, leaning on the counter while staring into space. His mind didn't see to want to do anything but think. Finally, Leo felt he could no longer breath down there, and grabbed his trench coat. He didn't bother leaving a note where he was going because he wouldn't be too long. He just wanted to get a bit of fresh air, and check out the newspapers.

   It was very strange to slosh down the cool tunnels and experience a tingle of fear as he arrived at a junction. He _always_ felt safe in these tunnels, they had provided the feeling of being protected from many things; but now, he felt like a normal person with an imagination as he looked at the walls. These tunnels did seem a bit . . . scary. They were long, dark, and at this T junction there were two directions anyone could attack. Leo let out the small breath he was holding, annoyed at himself for being such a fool. Who would be waiting around a corner in a sewer? He was a ninja, he would hear anyone around a corner meters off . . . and then his imagination started playing again: He wouldn't hear anything around a corner if it weren't human, if it had the technologies to beam down silently. He suddenly felt like a scared little kid all alone, and frightened. For no reason Leo looked behind him at the way he had come. It seemed very long, and very dark. It was his eyes playing tricks on him, but poor Leo believed he saw movement in the deepest shadows, and the turtle gasped and spun around, and began running down the right tunnel, towards the manhole he knew would be there.

~

   Apologies for the lateness.__


	7. Definitely Real

Disturbing Recollection

~

   _You're an idiot, Leonardo, a pathetic idiot, afraid of your own shadow,_ he bitterly thought to himself as he walked along at a slow pace in the bright street. Bright compared to the sewers, his home, which he had just run out from.

   He was well covered by his long trench coat and his fedora hat from view. Also his feet were hidden by an old pair of sneakers that were a little small; but a mutant can't be picky. There weren't many people in the streets, it always made him feel a little less edgy with few people around to see him. But at this particular moment in his life he didn't really care if humans saw him, he was worried about the aliens, and when they would _next_ see him.

   Leo stopped walking and walked into a shop that sold small bits and pieces. He went straight to the newspapers and tabloids, and picked one up. On the front was a picture of a blurred UFO with the title UFO OR UFP, and the article goes on to explain UFP stands for Unidentified Flying Prank. Leo read on that many people eye-witnessed a floating light before it zoomed away, and others saw bright lights flash and then there was nothing. All these happen in the park, all were seen in or around. Leo read nothing of people claiming to be abducted.

   "Crazy ain't it?" A rough, deep voice spoke up behind Leo. He turned to the man behind the small counter. How he got behind there was surprising because his stomach could have easily caused a jam.

   Leo looked back down at the newspaper. He was never comfortable looking at a human in case they saw something.

   "Yeah," he muttered quietly. He quickly put the paper down and walked out. The man bid him a nice evening before he left, and Leo nodded once to show he was not ignorant. He didn't feel like speaking to anyone at the minute. So, after reading the paper it was true he was not losing his mind nor imagining anything. People had seen the sightings, yet no one had been taken onboard this ship. It seemed these _aliens_ were only interested in him and his brothers. And Leo planned to stop them from taking them again. His brothers were lucky, they didn't see what happened, they don't remember what took place at night ten years ago. They didn't _know_. It was kind of sad they his brothers didn't know that they were taken into a white room with white light, by, probably, white beings. They were asleep, so why wasn't he? Maybe these things needed his awake for their tests. The body works quicker while awake, perhaps they are just interested, they want to know _everything_ about Leo and his brothers. Whatever, Leo wanted it to stop, and maybe he could make it come to an end.

   Leo changed his direction and headed to the park. If he could get back on that ship, maybe he might be able to get control of his body, and try to settle this thing. It sounded crazy, but these things were driving him nuts, he knew it was because of this UFO that he had the nightmarish memories.

   It took fifteen minutes to reach the park at his pace, which was slower than normal. Since his brain was swamped with thoughts that demanded attention, the rest of him seemed slower. Leo stopped and looked at the trees. A place he had once thought was the most beautiful place in Manhattan, and one he would have always escaped into when he had troubles. Not nice, his current troubles had started in that place, but he was hoping they would finish in there too. Leo continued walking, and disappeared off the pavement onto the grass and paths. He wouldn't go home, he was going to stay here again, he was going to get taken again, but this time he would resist whatever control they have over him, and get them to listen to him. Crazy? Yes, maybe he was being crazy, but what else could he do? At least he had a plan and was willing to enforce it. Sitting back and _hoping_ his problem will fly away was not a Leo thing to do. He knew his brothers would be worried when he doesn't return tonight, but he knew his Sensei would understand that he is trying to solve something.

   It would have been a boring wait for nightfall for any other person, or even turtle, but Leo had many thoughts on his mind, and his old childhood memories kept him asking himself many questions. He was surprised when the first lamp flickered on with a hum. Leo had seated himself on a bench on one of the main paths in the park. But now, he got up and moved into the trees. He heard a few sounds that sounded to him like people making out in the bushes, and he heard their voices. It seemed they were there to hopefully get a glimpse of this UFO. Leo passed them and walked until he came to a familiar bench. He stared at it before walking closer and seating himself down. He waited. This scene seemed to be repeating itself. Here he was the other night, on this bench, wanting some answers, now, here he is, determined to get those answers.

   It surprised him again when another light appeared. But this one wasn't a street lamp. It was much bright. Could this be them? It must be – would Leo get his answers in a few short minutes? Would he be able to resist the control they seem to have on people? Leo stood up with his neck craned upwards. The lights had been waiting for him, they appeared much too early. Was he about to get his answers? Or was this just going to be a repeat of the other night? A white beam shone down and illuminated Leo. The turtle was about to find out if it was wise to seek his answers.


	8. It's Over

Disturbing Recollection

~

   Sore. His eyes were so sore. But the brightness was back once again. It surrounded him, seemed to bleach his own skin tone to nothing but whiteness. It was _exactly_ like the other nigh, bright light, nothing but whiteness – no – this _wasn't_ like the last time . . . he was stood. Leo was not laying down, he could not feel any surface on his shell, and his sense of balance, however dizzy it was seeming, told him he was vertical, and on his own feet. The small ache in his muscles told him that his own effort was causing him to be stood – no alien instrument or object was making him. But why was is painful to stand? It seemed to take half of his concentration to stay on his feet; otherwise he somehow knew he'd fall over. The other half of his concentration was forcing his mind to stay awake, to keep his sore eyes open. With this registered in his aching brain, Leo next wanted to know what he should and could now do. But he dare not turn . . . or he _couldn't_ turn. His muscles were so focused on keeping him upright they were, at this minute in time, incapable of doing anything else. Leo's eyes were _so_ sore, but he refused to close them in fear that if he did, he would fall under whatever control these aliens were trying to force onto him. Speaking of the hell demons themselves, Leo wondered where they were. He had the eerie, tingling feeling on his senses that they were just outside of his vision range, staring at him. The sudden feeling of childish hopelessness and fright gripped his heart, but – _no_ – he fought against the feelings and crushed them deep down inside him, where they lingered weakly. He summoned with most of his mental strength, and opened his mouth and spoke.

   "I know you're there," his voice was whispery and surprised himself. He swallowed. "Let me see you." He demanded.

   There was no sounds, no movement. Only bright white.

   Leo waited with baited breath for something to happen. He at least hoped he would glimpse movement at the edge of his vision; but nothing. Leo took a deep breath.

   "Do you _understand_?" He listened. His highly trained senses could pick up nothing, and for one who prides themselves, and has relied on these senses for most of his life, it was disturbing to think they were unable to detect anything now. A new emotion took hold. "I know you're listening!" He shouted angrily. "I _know_ you can see how this is – affecting – me. I want it to stop! You hear me? I want it to _stop_! I remember what you did to me when I was younger – I remember  - you tried to delete it from my memory . . ." He paused, breathing through his mouth with his bottom jaw stuck out in anger. "I remember seeing what you did to me – I saw my blood, all of my blood, running in transparent tubes into _your_ machines, around me! You drained it from me! And I saw it . . . I remember it . . . " the memory had terrified him in his sleep, where he could do nothing but relive the nightmare. "You drilled a _hole_ into my shell – " the memory of the shrill sound of the alien drill machine bore into his mind at that very second "– And now I know that you're trying to torture me again!" He almost screamed. He was breathing slightly harder now. The rage seemed to give him that little extra energy, and Leo summoned it to his neck muscles. He slowly turned his head to his right, still squinting against the harsh light. As he turned, something from the corner of his vision moved to the center as his eyes leveled with it; and widened. He vaguely saw that behind the figure there were four tables, bleaching in the whiteness. One of them was empty. Leo's eyes never left, what he could only guess right, as one of his captors and torturers.

()()()()

   "AGH!" Donny shot straight up from being laid on his bed. How he got there was a question that flicked so quickly in his mind that he forgot a slit second after he had awoke. He jumped off the bed and ran into the next compartment. He threw himself onto his knees, hitting his plastron against the side of Mikey's bed, and shook his brother on the arm with both hands.

   "Uh? – Uh – what?" Mikey shot up, looking alarmed. "Wh – where?" He turned and noticed Donny. "What?"

   "I just had a really strange, realistic dream," Donny told his brother a little breathlessly.

   "Whoa, me too," Mikey whispered, wondering why on earth he felt shaky, as though he'd been in a battle. He felt the adrenaline after one at least.

   "AGH – what the hell – " Raph's voice suddenly cried from the top bunk, and the bedsprings above Mikey groaned as their brother shot up. Raph's head and hands suddenly appeared over the edge of the top mattress. He stared for a few seconds, breathing as though he had been running. "What was that all about?" He said almost to himself.

   "Strange dream?" Donny asked quickly.

   Raph frowned and blinked a few times. "Yeah – but – but it felt so _real . . ."_

   "Care to share?" Mikey asked from the beneath his brother.

   "We don't need to," Donny said, almost cutting across Mikey. Donny suddenly looked up. "Where's Leo?"

   All three suddenly got up, or climbed off beds, and ran into the Lair. Their heads jerked from left to right, looking for their forth brother.

   Donny took off towards the dojo, quickly followed by Raph and Mikey. All were confused, yet thought they knew what had happened. All three reached the dojo and stopped at the door, catching themselves on the doorframe.

   Inside, they were looking at a sitting Leo, who had had his head bowed, but raised it as they appeared. He seemed to stare at them for half a second before he smiled, sort of relived like.

   "Leo?" Donny said, confusedly. Then he allowed himself to ask his-self why he had dashed here to find his brother.

   Leo's eyes wandered to the floor in front of him. "It's okay guys," he said softly. He looked up at them. "They're gone." He smiled, as though he knew they understood.

   They did, but they didn't.

   After two seconds of confused silence, Donny asked, "Who?"

   Leo's head tilted, his eyes on his brother. It looked a little freaky to see him calm about something that he seemed to know had made them scared a minute ago. He gave the impression that he knew everything to this mystery.

   "_Them_," he said, with no change of expression. "The lights, the abductors . . . they're not coming back."

   Donny moved further into the room and lowered himself onto his knees right in front of Leo, putting his hands on his lap.

   "Leo – what happened?" He asked quietly. Mikey and Raph took a step into the room, a hand remaining on the door frame each.

   Leo looked at his brother in front of him. "I –" he began, but paused a second. "I asked them to leave, to stop what they were doing to us. They didn't mean it – they didn't realize it was causing us pain."

   His brother knew that he was on about these aliens. Their Sensei had been worried about Leo, and had told his brother briefly what Leo's problem was; the memories, _the_ memory when he was five.

   "But Leo," Donny started, hesitant to say what he was about to, "these abductions didn't hurt _us_ – " he half turned and motioned to himself and Mikey and Raph. "They only took _you_, Splinter told us."

   Leo shook his head. "You, Mikey and Raph were tortured. You screamed in pain, you were all terrified." He voice, oddly, held no kind of emotion or tone they had every really heard Leo use.

   Donny felt a little tingle of fear for some reason. "I don't remember . . ." he whispered in a voice that almost asked Leo not to tell him it was true.

   "You don't, I do." Leo's expressionless face looked into Donny's, who could almost feel the distress Leo had earlier been feeling.

   Mikey left the doorframe and slowly sat down on Donny's left. "What are you saying? When were _we_ taken?"

   Leo looked at him. "Every time." He said simply. "Every time I was, you were just never the ones awake. I remember seeing most things of what were done to you." He glanced at Raph. "I was taken twice in the past two days." He told them without exact words, that they were taken too. "But they're not coming back now," there was something of the old Leo back in his face. His gaze fell to the floor again. "I told them they were hurting us, and they were causing more harm than they ever thought could happen. They were here to _study_ us. You've heard of human abductions in the past – well now they stumbled onto a new species: Us. They were curious I guess; wanted to know everything about the planet." He paused. "They took all four of us the first time because they didn't know if we were different from each other. But they found out we were the same in a certain way, and thought that, since they had realized from whatever tests they performed on us we were related, we had to be together to survive. They though there was a sort of connection to our minds that would break if we were taken out of a certain distance, and thought we would die. That gave them the opportunity to study us all . . . they told me all this, face to face if you like. Only, they couldn't talk, they had no mouths . . . it was like they were telepathic, but not. It wasn't thoughts they were sending to me, it was feelings. I could feel what they were thinking, it's weird, I can't explain." He gave a silent sigh. "They had been watching us since that first night when I acted weird." He looked at Donny. "Remember when it seemed I was going crazy, trying to point out small things that had changed in the night? Raph and Mikey had switched seats in the night, in the lair, and you all seemed darker? I guess even aliens can't get everything right, they recognized me because I was, if you like, marked, targeted. But they could _not_ tell the different between Mikey and Raph, and so accidentally returned them to the lair in the wrong places. I think I remember _feeling_ their thoughts on you, Don. They didn't get you mixed up because of your strong brain activity. They had some kinda machine to recognize this."

   They was a long silence in the dojo, in which time everyone stared at Leo, and then at the floor. Mikey broke the quietness.

   "But, why do you remember, and we don't?" He asked.

   Leo frowned slightly. "I think it was because I was always awake when we were taken. I saw the light, the light that freezes us."

Raph stepped away from the door. "So, the dreams us three had? We all suddenly woke . . ."

   Leo turned his eyes to his standing brother. "It was when they decided to leave us be . . . the control they had over you that was keeping you unconscious was taken off after I had finished _speaking to them, and then they returned you – _us_ – back home. You must have seen . . . the bright lights?" He asked._

   Raph looked uncomfortable, and shifted his eyes from place to place on the floor a few times before he spoke in a quiet voice. "I – I saw . . ." He swallowed and looked Leo in the eye. "I saw _them."_

   Mikey, who had been looking over his shoulder, looked at Leo. "So did I." He paused. "I felt pain as well, and I was scared."

   Donny slowly nodded as Mike looked at him, assuring him that he too felt the same. They and Leo looked at Raph, who lightly glared at the floor away from them.  

   "Yeah I felt pain . . . I was scared . . ." he admitted.

   Donny and Mike turned back and both took a slow, deep breath.

   "Splinter knows," Leo said, and his brothers looked at him. "I told him before you woke . . . the dream you had a few minutes ago was a memory of last night. You've all been asleep for a few hours. You woke in the ship, but they returned you to your unconscious state so you wouldn't see too much."

   "So, we haven't only _just_ been put back in out rooms?" Mikey asked.

   Leo shook his head. "No, the effect of their power renders you asleep for a while after they have removed their control from you. Then as you were stirring, coming around from their effects, you saw a flash of your memories that happened hours ago."

   Donny leaned forward slightly, ignoring his numb feet. "They can easily hide any future abductions if they wanted to. What if they do it again?"

   Leo gave a small, one-sided smile. "They won't," Leo said quietly. "I know . . . I just know."

   He knew.

~

**   End**

   Yeah I know, you're thinking, what the hell kinda ending is that? Well, it's MY ending, and I leave it up to you guys to think about how Leo recovers and such. Thanks a bunch for the reviews. I've got another kinda spookster in mind, but it's too similar to this. If the ending was that pathetic, I can carry on, but that's ONLY if I get any comment back saying it is so. Ciao, gracias an' all that ;)__


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